Trump files new challenges to federal election obstruction case in D.C.

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Washington Post

October 24, 2023 at 1:51 a.m. EDT


Former president Donald Trump launched a multipronged legal attack late Monday on his federal prosecution for allegedly subverting the results of the 2020 election, saying his actions were protected by the First Amendment as political speech and arguing that he cannot be tried in criminal court for trying to block Joe Biden’s victory after being impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate.

In court filings that landed moments before a midnight deadline, lawyers for Trump claimed he was a victim of political persecution by the Biden administration. They called the charges against Trump legally defective and vague, and said the indictment should not link him to the violence of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, because he is not charged with inciting that riot.

“Because the Government has not charged President Trump with responsibility for the actions at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, allegations related to these actions are not relevant and are prejudicial and inflammatory. Therefore, the Court should strike these allegations from the Indictment,” wrote defense attorneys Todd Blanche, John Lauro, Emil Bove and Gregory Singer.

“The indictment must be dismissed because it seeks to criminalize core political speech and advocacy that lies at the heart of the First Amendment,” they wrote. While aspects of the former president’s case raise historic and unprecedented legal questions, the motions filed late Monday are fairly typical for criminal defendants trying to challenge the legal sufficiency of the charges against them.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/10/24/donald-trump-motion-dismiss-double-jeopardy/

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No paywall (gift)

[Windicator]

1. "He's a republican and therefore can't be expected to be honest or decent." - Trump Mouthpieces

?w=427

[bucolic_frolic]

2. When cornered, shift the dialogue to something else, point elsewhere, import from China or Europe

Typical Trump strategy.

[Novara]

3. That motion is full of bullshit arguments

He's tried this before and has fallen flat.

He must love losing.

[riversedge]

6. When the arguments hit First Amendment Rights--it can be tricky. Just saying. .....

These make me anxious to say the least.

[wnylib]

7. He loves delaying. It gives him time to get his base

ready for action on behalf. Stoke their anger with false accusations against DOJ and the government. Keep building it up through delays and false claims in legal arguments so that they are ready to literally fight for him. The longer that a trial and conviction take, the better his chances to get through the election and possibly win.

[Turbineguy]

4. To obstruct more.

[Marthe48]

5. former president

Do the people traitor hires as henchmen ever get tired of indulging his ego? I guess the brown noses go with the brown shirts and khaki pants.

[AllyCat]

8. He'll really try anything at this point.

Multiple challenges in an effort to see what sticks in his desperate effort to stop the Buffalo running at him with horns down.

[iluvtennis]

9. Nothing burger - not going anywhere. n/t

[onetexan]

10. Throwing in the kitchen sink

[republianmushroom]

11. More delays ?

[CaptainTruth]

12. Are they ignorant? Desperate? Both?

His attorneys keep making nonsense arguments & they should know they're nonsense.

I guess they're just trying please their orange employer, & hoping they get paid.

But what of the rest of their career?

[KPN]

13. Haven't they made all these arfuments before? Thiks time, they've just packaged

them all together in order to get one more frigging delay? Sure seems that way to me -- though I only read the news article and not the motion itself. And of course they waited as usual to the the very last moment before the deadline to file. This is so frigging obviously transparent.

Can't wait till this mother****** is gone from this planet.

[Harker]

14. I'd be in favor of shorter deadlines...

but they'd probably appeal that.

At the last moment, of course.

[LudwigPastorius]

15. "Because the Government has not charged...Trump with responsibility for the actions at the Capitol...

allegations related to these actions are not relevant"

The Government absolutely has charged Trump with responsibility for the riot. That is one of the charges he is facing in the freaking indictment that was filed.

Trump's lead attorney:

[meow2u3]

16. Meet the new arguments. Same as the old arguments

He keeps making the same political nonsensical diatribes, trying to pass them off as legal arguments. I'm sure the judge won't buy that BS.
When will the frivolous litigation end?

[Historic NY]

17. Buit he engaged in criminal conduct and that isn't free speech

[erronis]

18. As usual, EmptyWheel is covering this very well

https://www.emptywheel.net/2023/10/24/trumps-motions-to-dismiss-things-that-arent-the-charges-against-him/

From the start of her dissertation:

[SleeplessinSoCal]

19. Has he actually not been charged with incitement?

Even after we all heard the Ellipse speech? So shouting "FIRE!" in a theater is now free speech protected by the 1st amendment?

[BumRushDaShow]

20. Remember that

"superseding indictments" can always come later depending on what additional evidence is uncovered.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

21. It seems like a no brainer

Just because the Senate could 57-43, does that mean the DOJ is holding back?

I think it's time to look at loopholes in our laws. Too many lawyers make a fortune exploiting them and driving an industry of greed.

[BumRushDaShow]

22. I think if anything the past 2 years has shown

is that when you develop a case for weasels like this, you MUST MUST MUST have every duck in a row and keep it simple (and consider "adding on" things later when you know it'll be a "slam dunk" - to a jury). I.e., don't go with "scope creep".

As an example, you see what it took AG Tish James to craft the civil fraud case that is going on right now in NY that is on track to basically dismantle 45's organization, and there were 200+ pages of charges to do this, all documented, and all "with receipts".

[TwilightZone]

25. shouting "FIRE!" in a theater

is not, in itself, a crime. It can lead to other crimes, such as disorderly conduct or, in the event of a stampede resulting in death, some form of manslaughter.

The claim that the statement itself is a crime, however, particularly on the federal level, is mostly a myth.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2023/8/30/23852276/covid-joke-shouting-fire-crowded-theater-analogy-jacob-sullum

[SleeplessinSoCal]

27. Is it protected by the first amendment?

The guy has performed crimes every day of his life because he loves to do so and learned from Roy Cohn how to avert the law.

I knew the day he won in 2016 that we were entering an era of immorality. How long it will last is the question.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/09/19/roy-cohn-donald-trump-documentary-228144/

[EarthFirst]

23. I wonder as the Motions to Dismiss pile up...

…whether the lumps in his attorneys throats begin to asphyxiate themselves knowing the longer this drags out; the less likely they are to be paid…

[ancianita]

24. Four motions filed just before midnight, around 3 minutes apart. Glad Smith announced the Meadows immunity deal today.

I usually don't even bother reprinting Lauro's side of the pre-trial motions.
Given years of congressional and DOJ investigating and grand jury decisions, he's hardly one to push some prosecutorial misconduct argument, or "it's unprecedented in all of U.S. history!" whining.

But in case some lawyers and anyone else here are interested, here are Lauro's Main Document and

its four attachments.

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67656604/116/1/united-states-v-trump/

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67656604/116/2/united-states-v-trump/

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67656604/116/3/united-states-v-trump/

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67656604/116/4/united-states-v-trump/

[Chainfire]

26. He is working on the appeals that he knows he will need later.

After he is convicted, he will need a path to the SC.